Skoda recently revealed its plans to bring the 5-seater Karoq SUV to India. The Karoq shall be brought to India as a completely built unit (CBU).

Initially, it was planned that the Karoq would come to India as a completely knocked down (CKD) unit. However, there has been relaxation in certain laws pertaining to import of vehicles that allows automakers to import up to 2500 units of a particular vehicle without homologating it to Indian standards.

This serves as a good testing ground for Skoda, as they evaluate the feasibility of future production plans for the Karoq in India. Currently, under the India 2.0 scheme, Skoda is aiming to achieve 90% localisation in cars that are made and sold in India.

With the new import rules, fellow automaker such as Audi, Mercedes and Volkswagen are expected to follow suit: testing a car before manufacturing it locally.

The Karoq is built on the modular MQB platform that it shares with cars such as Octavia, Superb and Passat. It is positioned between the Yeti and the Kodiaq. In international markets, the Karoq comes in 5 powertrain variants, of which two are petrol, and three are diesel options. The petrol-powered range consists of a 1.0-litre 3-cylinder TSI motor (115 hp) and a 1.5-litre TSI motor (150hp). The diesels, on the other hand, have a 1.6-litre motor (115 hp), a 2.0-litre (150 hp) motor from the Kodiaq, and the top of the line 2.0-litre motor that makes 189 horses. Apart from the top spec powertrains that come mated to a 7-speed DSG, all other cars have a 6-speed manual transmission.

The Karoq is speculated to be revealed in mid-2020.

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